bayedsolid Chapter 561 Your Majesty! Did you see it?
Chapter 561 Your Majesty! Did you see it?
A faint smile of reminiscence appeared on Li Ji's face. He nodded slowly in agreement, his tone full of emotion: "Indeed, the first time I ate here, the taste was so delicious that it still lingers on my lips and teeth when I think about it. It's truly unforgettable."
"What a pity! Every time I eat it again, I feel like the taste is not right. I don't know if it's because they changed the chef, but the dishes at Songhelou no longer have that heart-touching feeling they once had."
He narrowed his eyes slightly, trying to recapture the delicious taste of the past in his memory, but the gap in reality added a bit of melancholy to his smile.
Cheng Yaojin shook his head slightly, and his gray beard trembled slightly, with a deep look on his face that came from experiencing many vicissitudes of life.
"Mao Gong, you are wrong."
Upon hearing this, Li Ji's face instantly showed a puzzled expression, his eyebrows slightly furrowed, and he asked in confusion, "What did I do wrong?"
Cheng Yaojin picked up the wine glass, took a sip slowly, and put it down. "This chef has never changed. It's just that there are fewer people eating together."
His eyes gradually dimmed, and his voice became unconsciously choked.
Hearing this, he fell silent for a moment.
He slowly put down the chopsticks in his hand, and his originally smiling face seemed to be shrouded in a layer of haze, and his mood gradually became depressed.
"Zhijie, why are you saying this?"
His voice was choked, and his eyes were slightly red, trying hard to suppress the emotions surging in his heart.
Cheng Yaojin couldn't hold it in any longer. He raised his rough hands and wiped the tears from his face. His voice trembled with sorrow, "Maogong, I don't want to be like this either. But, apart from you, I really have no one to talk to."
His eyes were filled with loneliness and helplessness. "Besides you, no one else knows about the life and death, joys and sorrows we've shared. Who else can I, an old man half buried in the ground, tell about this?"
His shoulders trembled slightly, and his emotions grew more agitated. "I don't want to be reminded of this every time, Maogong, but I really can't help it. As soon as I close my eyes, those past events keep turning around in my mind!"
"Every night when I sleep, as soon as I close my eyes, I dream of the past. I dream of His Majesty. He is still so wise and powerful, leading us to create the prosperous Tang Dynasty."
"I dreamed of Lao Hei, his laughter is still ringing in my ears; I dreamed of Shubao, he was right before my eyes; I dreamed of Li Jing, the look of him planning and strategizing has never been forgotten..."
Cheng Yaojin's voice was already choked with sobs, and familiar faces kept appearing in his mind, each carrying precious memories. "I dreamed that we were all in court, in the Taiji Hall. I was telling jokes, and you were all pointing at me and laughing so happily."
"Everyone was there at that time, not one was missing! Mao Gong, did you know?"
Having said this, he could no longer suppress his inner grief. Tears rolled down his face drop by drop. He covered his face tightly with his hands and burst into tears.
The diners around were attracted by the sudden crying. The originally noisy restaurant suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked sideways.
Some kind-hearted diners looked concerned, walked up quickly and asked softly if they needed help.
But Li Ji suppressed his grief, clasped his fists to thank everyone, and tactfully sent them away one by one.
At this moment, in the eyes of everyone, they only saw an old man with white hair, crying bitterly, but no one knew that this old man was the famous Duke Lu of the Tang Dynasty who had made great military achievements.
Li Ji sighed softly and slowly sat down next to Cheng Yaojin. He stretched out his equally calloused hand and gently patted his shoulder. His voice was filled with persuasion: "Zhijie, it's all in the past. Think about it. We are both at this age and don't have much time left. Why torture yourself like this?"
His voice began to tremble, and he couldn't help but choke up as he spoke. "Who wouldn't miss the past? But what's the point? Those days can never come back!"
He picked up the white liquor on the table, raised his head and drank it all in one gulp, trying to use the spicy wine to extinguish the burning fire of longing in his heart.
At this moment, the crisp shouting of the newspaper boy outside the door suddenly sounded. The familiar voice instantly broke through Li Ji's last psychological defense line.
That voice directly opened the door to the long-forgotten memories in his heart.
Hearing the voice of the newspaper boy, Li Ji could no longer suppress his inner grief. He completely broke down and burst into tears along with Cheng Yaojin.
When Cheng Yaojin heard Li Ji's words, he cried even harder and responded while crying: "I know, I know everything, it's all in the past, but I really don't want to just let it go like this!"
There was reluctance in his crying.
The two old men's loud crying completely broke the original tranquility in the restaurant, and the diners around them no longer had any appetite.
They all stopped what they were doing and focused their eyes on the two elderly people hugging each other tightly. They could only hear them calling out "Emperor Taizong Wen" intermittently.
As soon as these words were spoken, the elderly diners felt touched in the softest part of their hearts and their eyes began to turn red.
Emperor Taizong! He was the great emperor who led the Tang Dynasty to glory, ushered in the Zhenguan era, and allowed the people to live and work in peace and contentment.
For a moment, some elderly people secretly wiped away their tears, and their thoughts were drawn back to that earliest era.
At first, there were only occasional sobs, but under the influence of Cheng Yaojin and Li Ji, these people also started crying. Some were even more heartbroken and knelt on the ground, using this most simple way to express their nostalgia for Emperor Taizong.
The young people looked at these grandfathers crying and holding their heads in their arms. Although they had not personally experienced the era of Li Shimin and could not fully empathize with them, they could understand from the crying of the old people their attachment to the past and their longing for old friends.
They just stood there quietly, watching the group of crying old people. At this moment, they also felt the vicissitudes of time and the weight of history.
Cheng Yaojin and Li Ji were crying when they suddenly heard the same crying sounds all around them.
The two of them looked around with red eyes and emotion.
They didn't expect that the recollection of past years would resonate so much.
At this moment, they seemed to have returned to the era that belonged to them.
"Your Majesty, do you see that? There are still so many people thinking of you, Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"
"I miss you so much, old minister!"
Cheng Yaojin knelt on the ground, coughing continuously.
Only in this way can he ease the pain of missing her.